2021
6’x10’
Acrylic on Parachute Cloth
E14 Gallery for the the AAPI Youth Youth Rising Art Show
Oakland, CA
Grace Lee Boggs, Violeta Marasigan and Yuri Kochiyama are featured in the center of the mural. We have been painting the change we would like to see happen in the world, believing energy that we create will manifest itself into reality. By choosing three strong, courageous women ancestors we hope that people will see themselves, mothers and grandmothers, and use their spirits to find the strength to keep fighting for justice and equality.
13 year old Ashlyn So and 12 year old Mina Fedor are Bay Area youth activists organizing rallies and bringing people together to bring awareness about anti Asian hate.
The two girls represent our current and future in movement building while also showing they are the phoenix rising. They are what we all fight for and they are continuing the revolutionary work that Grace, Yuri and Violeta dedicated their lives to. We also added Xiao Zhen Xie’s paddle that she found to protect herself with. Engraved On it is a willow tree which represents protection.
The lanterns in the background represent the victims of the Atlanta shooting.
The phoenix in the background is a Chinese phoenix. We found a saying “Wang no cheng feng” which means hope daughter becomes phoenix. We have Hope that our daughters will be inspired to soar and become leaders and fighters like the phoenix. The phoenix also represents the yin female energy.
The bamboo growing from the center symbolizes strength, flexibility and health. It teaches us to adapt to the harshest circumstances. To find balance and inner peace and to prioritize our bodies and health.
The title is the last stanza of a poem by Wally Lam for the Yellow Pearl Project produced by Fay Chiang.